Throughout October, 38 people relied on the Open Arms Shelter and Individual Supports (OASIS) shelter service in downtown Kentville, N.S. Roughly 1,210 people relied on the community meals. OASIS also runs transitional housing and Tiny Meadows, a Pallet shelter. “At OASIS we offer some community meals. It’s three times a day that we feed some people in the community who aren’t necessarily just homeless, just people who need a hot meal,” says Chrystal Remme, Open Arms senior communications specialist. Despite the support it provides, the location of the emergency shelter on Bridge Street is creating problems for the community, according to the town’s mayor. “In the daytime they’re roaming the town and it’s impacted our business community and our residents. Our public spaces have been vandalized. A lot of them. We’ve had two fires in the last couple of months, and it’s reasonable to say that a lot of these issues are related to individuals that have access to these services at the shelter,” says Mayor Andrew Zebian. Over the past year, weekly conversations have taken place between the province, the town and the service provider. The province says it understands the challenges that come with the shelter’s current locations and they are looking into a relocation plan. “Understand what the needs are of the population, that community that is experiencing homelessness and what the next steps need to look like in terms of that action plan, as well as location and the services that need to be put in place,” says Jaime Smith, Nova Scotia Supportive Housing and Homelessness executive director with the Department of Opportunities and Social Development. “I’m very thankful that the minister of Opportunities and Social Development has committed to relocating the shelter out of the downtown core of Kentville. The rollout plan will come into effect probably within the next 45, 50 days,” says Zebian. Within the next 60 days, the Department of Opportunities and Social Development will share its plan for a new location and what the services will look like. “We don’t know at this time whether or not it will be in Kentville, but it will be within the vicinity of that area,” says Smith. “The thing is, it’s more the facility than the area, I think we’ll continue to serve all of our clients regardless of where we are at. And the focus has always been primarily on them and those supports will continue regardless of where we are at,” says Remme. Remme says the individuals they support have been nervous about what this move will mean for them. She says the team has reassured them they were a part of this announcement. “We’re hopeful it would be a little bit more modernized and be able to offer them what they should have in a shelter,” says Remme. The province says there is a significant need for support within the Annapolis Valley region so the community will not go without. “We have an opportunity now to really think about what are the needs of the folks in the community right now that are experiencing homelessness, and how can we work better together to ensure that they have access to the sports and services that they need,” says Smith. “At the end of the day you can still have empathy and want to help people but at the same time we can still ask those important questions and look at what it’s doing to our town. The businesses are relieved and I know a lot of residents are as well,” says Zebian. Zebian says he hopes the new building has all the support they need on site. “I hope that when this new building and new properties are set up, that there are proper supports in place, because at the end of the day, we all want people to thrive. We want them to thrive in their day to day lives,” says Zebian. Within the next two months, the Nova Scotia government will share their plan for Open Arms. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
